The “Who”, “What” and “When” for cold calling success

With social media taking over our phones, and our lives, it can be easy to rely on social networks alone for reaching our audience.  Traditional and more costly methods for marketing can fall back in priority, and leads and potential revenue can easily be left on the table.  With texting and smartphones, it may appear that the only way to reach someone is through a viral post or personal text, but that couldn’t be more distant from the truth.  Cold calling is not a dinosaur yet, and it is still a viable option for reaching prospects.  The key to a solid marketing strategy is having a variety of effective touch points, delivered with intention and direction.  Even the greatest of social posts won’t have a view without being directed to an interested viewer.  The same goes for cold calls.  The “who”, “what” and “when” of the call will directly impact your conversion rate.

“Who” – Who you call is just as important as the content of your call.  Having qualified leads that are interested in your product or service will hold the greatest impact on your conversion rate.  There are many options for buying leads, but the quality and accuracy of the information is often not realized until you have embarked on a cold calling campaign.  For this reason, acquire your leads from trusted and reliable sources; moreover, they should be leads that are recent, fresh and are determined to be within your target market.  For example, home builders should have leads that are individuals and businesses looking for new construction, additions or renovations.  Leads through HBW cover all of your bases by having the latest permit data, so you know where your prospect is in the construction process, as well as accurate contact information and details that will ensure your dialing isn’t wasted.

“What” – In an ideal world, the person on the other end of the line has nothing but time to talk with you; realistically, you have less than 30 seconds (or less) to engage your listener, and what you communicate must be engaging and speak to their current interests and needs.  Build a script outline, but don’t read from it like an automated system; instead, use it as a guide for keeping you focused on your purpose and objective.  Your script should include a few sentences introducing you and your product/service.  Additionally, anticipate questions and potential rejection; be prepared with answers, and keep a positive attitude.  Not all openings will work for every prospect, so be flexible and adjust as you identify which methods and approaches have the most favorable outcomes.

“When” – Timing is everything – really!  Think about it… You don’t know the mood of the person on the other end of the line or what events may be taking place in his/her day.  They could have just had a bad day at the office or be in the process of driving, talking to a client or eating dinner – so don’t take responses or rejection personally.  Instead, try to schedule calls at a time that increases the likelihood of their availability.  For example, midweek (Wednesday or Thursday) is a better time to reach leads in comparison to when they are gearing up for the weekend (Friday) or just starting their week (Monday).  Avoid calls during dinner and lunch hours, and start out with the standard morning or late afternoon timeframe.  Ultimately, your results will begin defining the best timing for your business, so be sure to have an effective tracking tool, system or software in place that will enable you to run analytics on calls.  The same principles will apply to your follow up on returned calls – When leads return a call from a previous conversation or message, respond quickly and within the same day while their interest is at its peak.

While cold calling isn’t the only way to reach your prospects, it is still very much alive and well and can be an effective tool to add to your marketing tool box.   By having targeted leads and directed information at the ready, your cold prospects will become warm clients down the road.

For more information on construction business and marketing tips, stay connected with the HBW Blog.  To get ahead of construction activity and gain access to the latest permitting data in Florida, Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma, contact HBW for more information on construction data reports and industry leads.